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Earthbound — Earthbound
(Bandcamp no#, 2026, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2026-09-10

Earthbound Cover art

Last December I wrote about the debut EP by Earthbound from Portland, Oregon, which was a four-track teaser for their first proper studio album, also titled Earthbound. This great instrumental album features eleven tracks, three of which appeared in rough form on the EP. The band’s stock in trade is moody progressive rock with strong performances from both guitar (Brian Heaney) and keyboards (Brian Magill) in the lead backed by solid bass (Dan Mowery) and drums (Stuart McLeod). All the compositions are by Heaney save a short piece by Mowery. The music is an appealing mix of gritty guitar and the classic keyboard sounds of organ, electric piano, and Mellotron, and while odd meters are in evidence, it wouldn’t be fair to call it math-rock (unless that will get them more attention – then go for it!). The compositions aren’t as reliant on dissonance as King Crimson, and when I reach into the depths of my musical experience for comparisons, the ones I come up with are generally not well known and only somewhat relevant: Discipline, Eccentric Orbit, Baraka, Bi Kyo Ran. Which goes to show that Earthbound is doing their own thing, not rehashing sounds from the past. The album has a great flow to it, starting with a powerful new version of “Strange Angles,” which appeared on the EP, then “Chronovisor” which kicks high-energy prog butt. Later on, we get Mowery’s short, meditative bass solo “Málaga,” which leads into the moody electric piano feature “Listful Thinking.” Another brief interlude called “Dyatlov Pass” takes us back to the intensity of “New Bilge.” Several of the pieces feature repeating angular guitar lines, but Heaney plays them in a way that doesn’t sound like Robert Fripp at all. It’s also really fun to hear electric piano and Mellotron in this kind of context. Earthbound’s debut album is a noteworthy release in the world of progressive rock, and I hope it reaches a wide audience.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Earthbound

More info
http://earthbound9.bandcamp.com/album/earthbound-2

 

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